35
Without hesitation, Edric lunged into the carriage and gathered her into his arms. She was eerily light, her skin clammy and drenched in tepid sweat.
He hastily brushed the strands of golden hair from her face and tapped her bloodless cheek.
The long, golden lashes casting shadows over her cheeks fluttered, parting to reveal deep navy eyes.
His breath hitched. Those eyes, as dark and bottomless as a bog, seemed to swallow his very soul.
As he stared down at her, dazed, a sharp crack stung his right cheek.
He clapped a hand to his face, blinking in bewilderment. In an instant, she had slipped from his grasp and was glaring at him as if he were a vile degenerate.
“How dare you lay your filthy hands on me?”
Edric, mouth agape, raised his voice in protest.
“I thought Your Highness had fainted…!”
“And because you thought I had fainted, you dared take liberties?”
“How can you say such a thing…!”
Edric sprang to his feet in indignance, only to crack the crown of his head against the carriage ceiling and crumple back down with a grimace.
Between the humiliation of her accusations and the throbbing ache in his skull, tears nearly pricked his eyes.
He clutched his head and groaned for a long while. The Princess gave him a look of utter pity, then pressed her fingers to her temples and jerked her chin toward the door.
“Enough. Get out. Stop bothering me.”
“Then please, step outside and get some fresh air. We still have half a day’s ride ahead. How long do you intend to stay cooped up in this furnace?”
Rubbing his head, Edric muttered with a sullen scowl. It was blunt advice, offered even as he braced himself for another strike.
The Princess stared at him in disbelief, as though appalled that he possessed the nerve to persist with his nagging.
Edric swallowed the urge to snap that he had no desire to meddle in her affairs either.
Guarding this impossible Princess had not been his choice, but she was still his charge. If she collapsed along the way, the blame would fall entirely upon him.
He met her venomous glare head-on, ready to drag her out by force if need be.
Her brow knit in exhaustion, as though weary of his stubbornness, and she finally rose to her feet.
His face brightened, and he stepped down first, offering a hand to escort her—only for the Princess to slam the carriage door shut right in his face.
Edric stared at the locked door in disbelief before finally giving up and turning away.
‘…I truly cannot fathom what makes her so constantly miserable.’
He let out a heavy sigh and trudged toward the lakeshore.
Even as he washed his sweat-stained face in water as cold as ice and rested beneath the shade of the trees, the stubborn Princess did not show so much as a lock of hair.
Was she on guard, terrified that someone might harm her?
Her excessive wariness made her look like a beast trapped in a snare.
He glanced back at the carriage with a troubled look, then shook his head to banish the useless thought.
Why bother trying to understand a woman like that?
If he could simply endure until this journey ended, he would be freed from this thankless post.
The Second Princess went through personal guards constantly; he would likely be replaced before long. He just had to hold out until then.
Steeling himself, Edric sat in the shade among the other knights. After resting and taking a simple meal of bread and wine, he mounted his horse once more.
Past midday, the sweltering heat gradually subsided.
Their strength restored, the pilgrims resumed a brisk pace along the Sinai Mountains, which cleaved the western region from the northeast. Thanks to the steady march, they reached the Sinai Plains—formerly the territory of the Kingdom of Balto—by dusk.
“We make camp here for the night.”
Varkas issued the command in a quiet voice, his gaze sweeping over the ranks.
Edric looked at him with an expression that bordered on awe. Despite riding all day, Varkas looked precisely as he had when they set out.
The Commander dismounted without a single strand of hair out of place, his keen eyes scouring the surroundings.
“Erect a perimeter around the camp and post sentries.”
The knights moved instantly upon his order.
Edric set to work erecting the palisade around the perimeter. He wondered for a moment if it was excessive, but the Sinai Plains teemed with dangerous magical beasts.
Though they rarely attacked large forces, caution was never wasted.
He pulled iron-spiked planks from a supply wagon, drove them into the earth, and strung cords laced with small bells between them.
After several hours of tireless labor, a temporary defense works enclosed the entire encampment.
Brushing the dirt from his hands, he made his way toward the glowing campfires. While the men had been securing the perimeter, the Princess’s maids had prepared supper.
Stomach grumbling, he drew near a fire where meat was roasting, tossed a small scrap of bacon into his mouth, and asked one of the maids,
“Has Her Highness taken her meal?”
The young maid stirring the large iron pot looked up, her expression troubled.
“Well… she said she has no appetite…”
Wiping the grease from his hands with a cloth, Edric scowled.
She had skipped midday rations, and now she meant to starve through dinner as well?
Irritation flared within him at the Princess, who threw a tantrum like a child at every turn.
He tossed the damp cloth aside and took up an empty basket.
“Pack this with proper food.”
The maid promptly filled the basket with an assortment of dishes: a thick slice of meat pie, bacon stew, wine, and preserved fruit.
Tucking the heavy basket under his arm, he marched toward the Princess’s small fortress.
He knew there was no reason to force food on someone who refused to eat. Yet the memory of how dreadfully frail she had felt in his arms gave him no peace.
Cursing his own meddlesome nature, he rapped on the carriage door.
“Your Highness, I have brought your meal.”
“I told you, I am not eating.”
“You have starved the entire day. How can you withstand such an arduous journey without nourishment? Even if you have no appetite, you must take a few bites.”
“I said I don’t want it, so leave!”
Edric grimaced. Even a hedgehog was not this prickly. Marshaling every shred of patience, he spoke as mildly as he could.
“Then I shall leave it here before the door. Should you change your mind—”
As he bent down to set the basket, he flinched and drew back. The door flew open without warning, and a pale, fiercely set face appeared before him.
Edric swallowed dryly, meeting those blue eyes ablaze even in the dying crimson of dusk.
END